Bill Text: NY S00160 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to audio-visual coverage of judicial proceedings; allows the judge or justice presiding over a proceeding to exercise discretion to prohibit or limit filming or photographing of particular participants; defines terms; provides limitations on audio-visual coverage.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2024-06-03 - referred to judiciary [S00160 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S00160-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         160--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 4, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  HOYLMAN-SIGAL,  RAMOS  --  read twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on  Judici-
          ary  --  recommitted  to the Committee on Judiciary in accordance with
          Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN  ACT to amend the judiciary law, in relation to audio-visual coverage
          of judicial proceedings; and to repeal section 218  of  the  judiciary
          law and section 52 of the civil rights law relating thereto

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 218 of the judiciary law  is  REPEALED  and  a  new
     2  section 218 is added to read as follows:
     3    §  218.  Audio-visual  coverage  of judicial proceedings. 1.  Authori-
     4  zation. Subject to the authority of the judge or justice presiding  over
     5  the  proceeding  to  exercise  sound  discretion  to prohibit filming or
     6  photographing of particular  participants  in  judicial  proceedings  to
     7  ensure  safety  and the fair administration of justice, audio-visual and
     8  still photography coverage of public judicial proceedings in the  appel-
     9  late  and trial courts of this state shall be allowed in accordance with
    10  this section.
    11    2. Equipment and personnel. The following shall be  permitted  in  any
    12  trial or appellate court proceeding:
    13    (a)  At least two compact video cameras, each operated by no more than
    14  one camera person. Additional permitted cameras shall be within the sole
    15  discretion and authority of the judge  or  justice  presiding  over  the
    16  proceeding.
    17    (b)  At  least  one  still photographer, using not more than two still
    18  cameras.
    19    (c) At least one audio system for radio  broadcast  purposes.    Audio
    20  pickup  for  all  media  purposes  shall  be  provided by existing audio

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01599-03-4
        S. 160--A                           2

     1  systems present in the  courtroom.  If  no  technically  suitable  audio
     2  system exists in the courtroom, microphones and related wiring essential
     3  for  media  purposes  shall be permissible provided they are unobtrusive
     4  and  shall  be located in places designated in advance of any proceeding
     5  by the judge or justice presiding over the proceeding.
     6    (d) Additional permitted equipment or personnel shall  be  within  the
     7  sole discretion and authority of the judge or justice presiding over the
     8  proceeding.
     9    (e)  Any  pooling  arrangements  among members of the media concerning
    10  equipment and personnel shall be the sole responsibility of such members
    11  without calling upon the judge or justice presiding over the  proceeding
    12  to  mediate  any  dispute  as to the appropriate media representative or
    13  equipment authorized to cover a particular proceeding. In the absence of
    14  advance media  agreement  concerning  disputed  equipment  or  personnel
    15  issues,  the  judge or justice presiding over the proceeding may exclude
    16  all contesting media personnel from a proceeding.
    17    3. Sound and light criteria.  Video  and  audio  equipment,  including
    18  still  camera equipment, whether film or digital, shall not be permitted
    19  if it produces disorienting  sound  or  light.  No  artificial  lighting
    20  device  of any kind shall be used in connection with the video equipment
    21  or still camera.
    22    4. Location of equipment personnel. Video camera equipment  and  still
    23  camera  photographers  shall be positioned in such location or locations
    24  in the courtroom as shall be  designated  by  the  chief  administrative
    25  judge  of  the  court  or the chief administrative judge's designee. The
    26  area designated shall provide  reasonable  access  to  coverage  of  the
    27  proceedings.  Still  camera  photographers shall assume a fixed position
    28  within the designated area and shall not be permitted to move  about  to
    29  obtain photographs of court proceedings. Media representatives shall not
    30  move  about  the  court  facility  while proceedings are in session, and
    31  microphones or taping equipment shall not be moved during  the  pendency
    32  of the proceeding.
    33    5.  Equipment  movement during proceedings. News media photographic or
    34  audio equipment shall not be placed in or removed from the court facili-
    35  ty except before commencement or after adjournment of  proceedings  each
    36  day,  or  during a recess. Neither video cassettes or film magazines nor
    37  still camera film, digital media cards or lenses shall be changed within
    38  a courtroom except during a recess in the proceeding.
    39    6. Courtroom light sources. With the concurrence of the chief adminis-
    40  trative judge of the court, modifications and additions may be  made  in
    41  light  sources existing in the courtroom, provided such modifications or
    42  additions are installed and maintained without public expense.
    43    7. Conferences of counsel. To protect  the  attorney-client  privilege
    44  and  the  effective  right to counsel, there shall be no audio pickup or
    45  broadcast of conferences that occur in a courtroom between attorneys and
    46  their clients, between co-counsel of a client, or  between  counsel  and
    47  the presiding judge held at the bench.
    48    8.  Impermissible  use  of  media material. Film, digital files, vide-
    49  otape, still photographs, or audio reproductions  captured  or  recorded
    50  during  or  by  virtue of coverage of a judicial proceeding shall not be
    51  admissible as evidence in the proceeding out of which it arose,  in  any
    52  proceeding  subsequent  or collateral thereto, or upon retrial or appeal
    53  of such proceedings.
    54    9. Written order. (a) An order restricting audio-visual coverage  with
    55  respect  to a particular participant shall be in writing and be included
    56  in the record of such proceeding. The order must state  good  cause  why
        S. 160--A                           3

     1  such  coverage  will have a substantial effect upon the individual which
     2  would be qualitatively different from  the  effect  on  members  of  the
     3  public  in  general and that such effect will be qualitatively different
     4  from  coverage  by other types of media. Before prohibiting audio-visual
     5  coverage, the presiding judge must  first  consider  the  imposition  of
     6  special limitations, such as a delayed or modified still or audio-visual
     7  coverage of the proceedings.
     8    (b) A presumption of good cause shall exist with respect to the testi-
     9  mony of minors.
    10    10.  Closing the courtroom. No audio-visual coverage will be permitted
    11  during any period in which the  courtroom  is  lawfully  closed  to  the
    12  general public in accordance with the United States and New York Consti-
    13  tutions, New York law and court rules.
    14    11.  Appellate  review.  Interlocutory  review of an order restricting
    15  audio-visual coverage shall be expedited in accordance with the rules of
    16  the applicable appellate court.
    17    12. Regulations. The  provisions  of  this  act  shall  supersede  any
    18  provision to the contrary in Part 131 of the Rules of the Chief Adminis-
    19  trative  Judge,  22  NYCRR  Part  131, Part 29 of the Rules of the Chief
    20  Judge, 22 NYCRR Part 29, and any other court rule regarding audio-visual
    21  coverage of judicial proceedings.
    22    § 2. Section 52 of the civil rights law is REPEALED.
    23    § 3. Subdivision 5 of section 751 of the judiciary law,  as  added  by
    24  chapter 187 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
    25    5. Where any member of the [news] media as [defined in subdivision two
    26  of] referenced in section two hundred eighteen of this chapter, willful-
    27  ly disobeys a lawful mandate of a court issued pursuant to such section,
    28  the punishment for each day that such contempt persists may be by a fine
    29  fixed  in  the  discretion of the court, but not to exceed five thousand
    30  dollars per day or imprisonment, not exceeding thirty days, in the  jail
    31  of  the  county where the court is sitting or both, in the discretion of
    32  the court. In fixing the amount of the fine, the  court  shall  consider
    33  all  the  facts  and  circumstances  directly  related  to the contempt,
    34  including, but not limited to: (i) the extent of the willful defiance of
    35  or resistance to the court's mandate, (ii) the amount of  gain  obtained
    36  by  the  willful  disobedience of the mandate, and (iii) the effect upon
    37  the public and the parties to the proceeding of  the  willful  disobedi-
    38  ence.
    39    §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    40  have become a law.